
The pain pulsing through Robert Griffin III's sprained right knee late Sunday afternoon prevented the franchise quarterback from performing his magic when the Washington Redskins needed it most.

Trent Williams wasn't totally healthy, bothered by a thigh injury. Neither was London Fletcher, hampered by a bad ankle. But there was little if any doubt that the Washington Redskins' captains would be on the field for Monday night's showdown with the New York Giants.

The Redskins have won three games in a row and suddenly look like contenders. But the players made one thing clear: They have not accomplished anything yet.

It looked almost impossible as they stumbled into the bye week with six losses. But all of a sudden Monday night, the Washington Redskins were right in the thick of the playoff hunt.

When Trent Williams ran into Kory Lichtensteiger on the third play of the Washington Redskins' Thanksgiving Day victory over the Dallas Cowboys, the pain was overwhelming. The left tackle suffered deep left thigh bruise but refused to come out of the game.

Left tackle Trent Williams significantly bruised his left thigh when left guard Kory Lichtensteiger inadvertently kneed him while pass blocking on the third play of the Redskins' win over Dallas on Thanksgiving. He wasn't wearing thigh pads on the play.

Trent Williams is hopeful that he will be able to face the New York Giants on Dec. 3 despite suffering a deep thigh bruise Thursday against the Dallas Cowboys.

Kenny Chesney took the makeshift stage on the field at Cowboys Stadium at halftime Thursday and returned some normalcy to this place. Guitars twanging country music is what you expect to hear deep in the heart of Texas. The sounds that preceded that certainly were not.

Dallas week began at about 4:11 p.m. Sunday, as the chants echoed around FedEx Field.